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In a stinging rebuke for what it called the government’s “negligence” and “failure” in acting diligently to prosecute a businessman facing decades-old charges of child sex offences, the Supreme Court Monday dismissed a Crown appeal of the case,

Ernest Fenwick MacIntosh had been convicted of multiple counts of sexual abuse in 2010 and 2011 but his convictions were quashed by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal because of “unreasonable delay.”

By Julian SherInvestigative ReporterJulian Sher and Robert CribbStaff Reporters

Mon., April 22, 2013

OTTAWA—In a stinging rebuke for what it called the government’s “negligence” and “failure” in acting diligently to prosecute a businessman facing decades-old charges of child sex offences, the Supreme Court Monday dismissed a Crown appeal of the case, effectively crushing any hopes his alleged victims have of pursuing their claims.

Ernest Fenwick MacIntosh, a 69-year-old telecommunications manager from Nova Scotia had been convicted in 2010 and 2001 of multiple counts of sexual abuse dating to the 1970s, but the convictions were quashed by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal because of “unreasonable delay.”

As the Star reported Monday, MacIntosh lived freely in India for more than decade, getting his passport renewed by Canadian authorities not once but twice while facing the sex abuse charges.

He was finally extradited in 2006, 11 years after the first charges was laid.

As at least one alleged victim and his supporters looked on with mounting anxiety and concern, for one hour the Supreme Court judges grilled a Nova Scotia Crown prosecutor to explain the years of delays and bungling by authorities.

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Then, without even asking to hear from MacIntosh’s lawyer, the seven justices retired briefly to their chambers and returned after 15 minutes with an oral ruling — an exceptionally speedy decision.

“The right of the accused to be tried in a reasonable time was violated,” Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin declared in what she said was a unanimous verdict.

Macintosh’s lawyer Brian Casey told the Star he immediately emailed his client with the good news.

“I am sure he is pleased to finally have this at an end,” Brian Casey said. “This has been a long time coming.”

His alleged victims were angry that their many years of pursuing MacIntosh — who they say abused them as young boys in small-town Cape Breton — had ultimately failed, but they, too, put most of the blame on police and prosecutors.

“People just did not do their job properly,” said D.R.S., who can be identified only by his initials because of a court publication ban. “This has taken way too long.”

Mark Scott of the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service tried to convince the Supreme Court justices that MacIntosh “avoided charges of sex abuse against children” and could hardly blame the government for delaying a trial he sought so diligently to avoid.

But one by one the justices took the authorities to task for a litany of errors in pursuing MacIntosh.

“He is not hiding,” Justice Rosalie Abella noted. “Everybody knows where he can be found. Is there any explanation in the record for the government not doing anything in connection to an extradition?”

“It’s very vague,” replied the Crown prosecutor.

Justice Louis LeBel noted MacIntosh came to Canada “a few times at least” while he faced charges, something authorities could have discovered “by simply checking the passport.”

“There was a disconnect” between the RCMP and passport officials, Scott admitted.

“He (MacIntosh) sits around, nothing happens,” said Justice Michael Moldaver, noting the seriousness of the charges and the many years that had passed since the alleged crimes. “Surely there is some added requirement for the Crown to act as diligently as possible to get the person back here and get him tried.”

“This is a very difficult day for activists and victims,” said Roz Prober of Beyond Borders, an advocacy group against child exploitation that worked with the complainants.

“It cries out for an answer to the victims for this systematic bungling,” she said. “This can never happen again but it is, as we speak, because the system is broken and it needs to be fixed.”

Asked if his client’s victory sent any signal to accused sex offenders, MacIntosh’s lawyer Casey said: “I don’t think this is any kind of (free) ticket for them at all — it all depends on how quickly the Crown acts.”

After the stunning defeat, a Crown prosecutor Scott said he hoped the justice system would draw the appropriate lessons.

“Hopefully this will prompt this situation being avoided in the future,” he said.

In Nova Scotia, other victims were not so sure.

“My concern is that any victim in any situation may have trouble going to authorities to disclose any type of abuse,” said R.M.M., another complainant in the case. “Look at the mess of this injustice.”

Shortly after the ruling, the Nova Scotia pubic prosecution service announced it was launching an internal review “to better understand the delays involved and with a view to preventing such delays in the future” said spokesperson Chris Hansen,

She told the Star they will report their findings in May but it will be up to the provincial minister of justice to decide whether to release it to the public.

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